VATICAN-LIBYA
Pope denounces slaying of Egyptian Copts by Islamic State
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has denounced the slaying of Egyptian Copts in Libya by Islamic State-affiliated militants. Francis called the attacks a “barbaric assassination” of innocents who were killed merely for being Christian.
The Vatican says Francis phoned the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II, to “express his profound participation with the pain of the Coptic Church for the recent barbaric assassination of Coptic Christians by Islamic fundamentalists.”
Francis told reporters that the victims merely called on Jesus for help.
Sound:
286-a-16-(Pope Francis, speaking in Spanish, with English translation)-“or 22 Coptics”-Pope Francis says he found out Monday about the atrocities in Libya. (16 Feb 2015)
< ISLAMIC STATE Egypt strikes IS in Libya, pushes for international action CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State group targets in neighboring Libya and launched a push for international military intervention after extremists beheaded a group of Egyptian Christians. The airstrikes show Cairo’s alarm over the growing stronghold of radicals on its western border as it also fights a militant insurgency of Islamic State allies on its eastern flank in the Sinai Peninsula. Libya is where the extremist group has built up its strongest presence outside Syria and Iraq, and the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is lobbying in Europe and the United States for a coordinated international response similar to the coalition air campaign in those countries. ISLAMIC STATE-HEZBOLLAH Hezbollah leader denounces mass beheading of Copts BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has strongly denounced the Islamic State group’s beheading of a group of Egyptian Christian hostages in Libya. In a speech to hundreds of his supporters in southern Beirut Monday, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says the CIA and Israel’s Mossad are behind the extremist group, which serves their interests. He claims Israel is the only country which has not been affected and does not consider the group a threat. The Iranian-backed Shiite Hezbollah group, which has sent thousands of its fighters to Syria to help shore up President Bashar Assad’s forces, has positioned itself as a vanguard against Sunni extremists such as the Islamic State group. ISLAMIC STATE-PALESTINIANS Palestinians protest against extremist attack on Coptic Christians RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinians in the West Bank have demonstrated against the Islamic State killing of Coptic Christians in in Libya. A video released by the group shows the purported beheading of captives. Demonstrators holding banners and Egyptian flags gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Ramallah. One banner read “The Palestinian people condemn the terrorist ISIS ugly crime against our Egyptian brothers.” It also vowed “blood unity” with the victims. A Palestinian leader called Islamic state an “outlaw” group which should be confronted with full force. COPTICS PLEA Coptic group condemns attack, seeks evacuations WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S.-based Coptic Christian advocacy group is calling on the international community to evacuate Copts from Libya, where Islamic State terrorists killed 21 Egyptian Copts this weekend. A video released by the group purportedly shows the victims being beheaded on a beach in Libya. Coptic Solidarity spokeswoman Lindsay Vessey says the attack is just the latest assault against Christian minorities in Egypt and Libya. Vessey says some Copts remain trapped in Libya, where many went to work. Vessey says her organization is calling on the Egyptian government, Libyan authorities, the UN, NATO and the EU to mount an immediate joint evacuation effort to extract Egyptian Christians from Libya. Sound: 288-a-10-(Lindsay Vessey, spokeswoman, Coptic Solidarity, in AP interview)-“the last year”-Coptic Solidarity spokeswoman Lindsey Vessey says the killings by Islamic State are just part of ongoing attacks in Libya against Copts. (16 Feb 2015) < 290-a-06-(Lindsay Vessey, spokeswoman, Coptic Solidarity, in AP interview)-“it’s too dangerous”-Coptic Solidarity spokeswoman Lindsey Vessey says Copts still in Lybia are in a precarious position. (16 Feb 2015) < 289-a-10-(Lindsay Vessey, spokeswoman, Coptic Solidarity, in AP interview)-“much second-class citizens”-Coptic Solidarity spokeswoman Lindsey Vessey says life is difficult for Christian minorities in Egypt. (16 Feb 2015) < DENMARK SYNAGOGUE Family of slain Jewish man visits attack site COPAHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The family of the Jewish security guard killed in a shooting outside Copenhagen’s main synagogue has visited the temple to offer prayers. The Jewish victim was shot dead Sunday morning by a 22-year-old Dane, who just hours earlier had killed another man attending a free speech event. The atmosphere outside the synagogue was emotional and respectful when about a dozen relatives and friends of the victim arrived at the temple. Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior says the relatives have been “overwhelmed” by the messages of support and solidarity Danes have shown. He said the purpose of the visit was to give and to get strength. Sound: 291-a-07-(Jair Melchior, chief rabbi, with reporters outside synagogue where attack happened)-“to get strength”-Chief Rabbi Jair Melchior says the relatives wanted to see the scene of the attack. (16 Feb 2015) < 245-a-15-(Rabbi Jair Melchior (JEHR MEHL’-kee-ohr, Denmark’s chief rabbi, in AP interview)-“to get strength”-Rabbi Jair Melchior says the family of security guard Dan Uzan went to the synagogue where he was gunned down. Updated: 02/16/2015-07:40:47 PM ET (16 Feb 2015) < EUROPE-JEWS After attacks, Europe fights call for mass migration of Jews PARIS (AP) — Despite desecrated Jewish graves in France and a deadly attack at a synagogue in Denmark, European leaders are rejecting calls from Israel’s leader for a mass migration of the continent’s Jews to Israel, urging unity instead. Hundreds of Jewish tombstones were found vandalized in eastern France over the weekend after a Danish Jew guarding a synagogue in Copenhagen was shot to death. Frenchmen have been accused of three deadly attacks on Jewish sites since 2012: one at a school in the southern city of Toulouse (tuh-LOOS’), another at a museum in Brussels and at a kosher market in Paris last month. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Monday the government would defend French Jews against what he described as “Islamo-fascism.” THREE KILLED-NORTH CAROLINA Man indicted on 3 counts of murder in NC deaths of Muslims DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A grand jury in North Carolina has indicted a man on three counts of murder in the shootings of three young Muslims in what authorities have said was a dispute over parking spaces. Television stations WRAL and WTVD reported a grand jury in Durham County handed up the indictments Monday for 46-year-old Craig Hicks. Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha — and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, were found dead in their Chapel Hill condominium last week. Hicks was their neighbor, and others who lived nearby said he had frequent problems with where people parked in the complex near the University of North Carolina. Police in Chapel Hill have said they have not uncovered any evidence Hicks acted out of hatred for his neighbor’s faith, but their investigation continues. The FBI is also investigating. ANTI-MUSLIM ATTACKS Muslim advocacy cites recent spate of anti-Muslim attacks WASHINGTON (AP) — A Washington-based Muslim advocacy group says there’s been a recent spike in anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate crimes. CAIR — Council on American-Islamic Relations — spokesman Ibrahim Hooper says the incidents in the U.S. have risen since the deadly attack on the Paris weekly Charlie Hebdo by radical Islamists. Hooper points to recent incidents across the country including the vandalism against an Islamic school in Warwick, Rhode Island. Vandals spray-painted slurs on the facility. Hooper says that incident and others continue to grow despite forceful condemnations by American Muslims against acts of terror committed by Islamic State, Boko Haram and other extremist groups. He blames the incidents against Muslims in the U.S. on a tiny minority of bigots. Sound: 294-a-10-(Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman, Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR), in AP interview)-“into violent action”-CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper says the few who are staging hate crimes against American Muslims are ignoring the religious community’s denunciation of Islamic extremism. (16 Feb 2015) < 292-a-09-(Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman, Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR), in AP interview)-“anti-Mulsim hate crime”-CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper says there is a spike in anti-Muslim speech and attacks in the U.S. following recent extremist attacks abroad. (16 Feb 2015) < 293-a-17-(Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman, Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR), in AP interview)-“Boko Haram atrocities”-CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper says condenations of Islamist violence haven’t helped stem attacks against Muslims in the U.S. (16 Feb 2015) < BOKO HARAM Boko Haram issues new threat against Niger, Chad YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — The Nigeria-based extremist group Boko Haram has threatened neighboring countries Niger (nee-ZHEHR’) and Chad, warning the fighters are prepared to carry out suicide bombings in the countries sending troops to help fight the militants. The warning came Monday as leaders from Niger and other countries in the region gathered in Cameroon’s capital to finalize plans for a joint offensive against the militants who have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks. A multinational force to fight Boko Haram is expected to be formally launched in coming weeks. The Islamic extremist group has fought a five-year insurgency against Nigeria’s government, leaving 10,000 people dead last year alone. VATICAN-SEX ABUSE Pope’s sex abuse point man urges bishop accountability ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ point man on clerical sex abuse says the failure of the church to punish bishops who covered up for pedophiles has seriously hurt its credibility. And Cardinal Sean O’Malley says that the church must now lead the way by “humbly making the commitment to accountability, transparency and zero tolerance.” O’Malley said church law specialists and theologians are reviewing proposals for the pope that would hold bishops accountable. The proposals were developed by Francis’ commission of experts, which he chairs and includes two abuse survivors. O’Malley spoke Monday at the Pontifical Gregorian University, which is leading the church’s efforts to educate a new generation of priests about preventing abuse and helping survivors. SPAIN-PRIESTS-ABUSE Spain: Charges dropped against 9 priests, 2 Catholic lay workers in Granada sex abuse case MADRID, Spain – A judge in Spain’s southern city of Granada has dropped indictments against nine priests and two Catholic lay workers in a sex abuse case that prompted Pope Francis to call an alleged victim. The judge left in place an indictment against one priest, suspected of abusing teenage boys in a priest’s parochial home between 2004 and 2007. The judge’s court said the 11 were suspected of lower level charges with a statute of limitation of three years. Francis in November told reporters he received a letter documenting abuse from an alleged victim and called him, telling him to report it in person at the Granada diocese. OBIT-SINGER Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Singer dies BOSTON (AP) — A former Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who was a philosopher and the author of nearly two dozen books has died. Irving Singer was 89. Singer’s academic career spanned 65 years. He served on the MIT faculty in the Department of Philosophy and Linguistics from 1958 until his retirement in 2013. He was the author of 21 books in the field of humanistic philosophy, focusing on areas such as the philosophy of love, the nature of creativity, moral issues, aesthetics and philosophy in literature, music and film. Singer earned a doctorate in philosophy at Harvard University in 1952. He served at Harvard, Cornell University, the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University. His daughter says he died Feb. 1.
